Long Distance Relationships
by Katty008
Summary: When Saguru first knocked on the apartment door, he wasn't expecting the other teen to look quite so beat up. When they meet again, they each somehow become the one friend of the other who can truly keep up. Tintin/Saguru.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Magic Kaito, Detective Conan, or Tintin.**

**Wow this was hard to write. Near the end both Tintin and Saguru seem a little OOC. In my mind Tintin has his own poker face though, so it's a very tiny bit justified.**

**Basically this was the result of a couple sentences that led me to thinking Tintin/Saguru pairing and resulted in a challenge. And I hope I didn't do too horribly, because in the course of writing this I realized that it is almost entirely different from anything I've tried to write before. There's no humor, and only a small amount of angst. So... yeah. It was fun and interesting and challenging. And I may have to write more now.**

* * *

The first time Saguru meets the young reporter, the original intention was to chew him out for solving his case. Saguru had been working on it for a month at least, and gotten practically nowhere. He wanted to know how someone could be so phenomenally lucky as to solve it in just under a week. He'd heard of Tintin before of course – some business involving drug smuggling – but had never actually met the other teen before. But all thoughts of conversation fled from his mind the second the door to the apartment was opened.

The other teen, to put it bluntly, looked like shit. Other than the fact that he seemed to be favoring his left leg Saguru couldn't see anything overtly wrong with him, but the pallor of the exhausted and unwell clung to him. "Can I help you?" he asked.

Saguru held out his hand. "Saguru Hakuba."

Tintin shook it. "Tintin." Saguru noticed mostly healed burns on his hands, and didn't grip too hard. "I assume you have business with me?"

Saguru nodded. "Yes. I was hoping to discuss the Black Island Case, as the papers are dubbing it, with you, but if this is a bad time I would be perfectly happy to come back some other time."

Tintin looked startled, then seemed to realize the hidden concern for what it was. "It is a bit of a bad time, actually. Thank you for coming though."

"I will come back some other time then. You're welcome." Tintin shut the door, and Saguru found himself staring at the number plate. Just under a week, huh? Must have been one hell of a week.

* * *

The second time Saguru meets Tintin, it is after the other teenager manages to foil a _coup_ of all things. The article in the newspaper touting the fact that Tintin was now the first non-Syldavian Knight of the Order of the Golden Pelican for his pains reminded Saguru that he had never actually gone back to ask him about the Black Island Case. But he quickly dismissed the idea, remembering how beat up Tintin had seemed after his last publicized adventure.

But it seemed that that was an anomaly, as he was currently observing Tintin arguing with a waiter over a supposedly forged coin that the waiter was trying to give him as change. He stood up from where he was sitting in the café and walked over. "Can I help?" he asked. Smiling, he turned to Tintin. "I'm not sure if you remember me, we met shortly after the Black Island case. Saguru Hakuba."

Tintin nodded. "I remember you. You never did come back." The _I was rather hoping you would_ went unsaid.

"This is a perfectly good coin," the waiter continued to insist.

Saguru held out his hand. "May I see it?" The waiter obliged, and Saguru looked at it closely. "I agree with Tintin. This is a forgery, and don't think I don't know forgeries. See here, this edge is all wrong."

"What did I tell you?" Tintin glared at the waiter.

The waiter, recognizing when he was outnumbered, relented. "Fine then sir. I will go fetch another one from the till." He blustered off, clearly wondering if he should believe two teenagers on this.

Tintin turned to Saguru. "Now, I believe I owe you a discussion about a story of mine."

Saguru nodded. "Well I wouldn't say owe, but I would appreciate it. I'm just sitting over here, or should I join you?"

Tintin raised his hand and shook it. "Nah, I was done anyway. I'll join you at your table."

The two of them sat down and Saguru started. "I'm not sure if the police informed you of this, but I was also investigating those forgeries, albeit from a different angle."

Tintin nodded. "I remember them mentioning something about that. They didn't say a name though. That was you?"

"Yes. I was just wondering if you'd like to go over some points with me, so that in my mind I can truly close the case."

"Of course."

The discussion about the Black Island finishes all too soon, but Tintin doesn't seem as inclined to go as he had while arguing with the waiter. He orders a cool glass of ginger ale, and the conversation wanders far and wide. Saguru doesn't mind though, in fact he relishes it. True friends, ones that can keep up with him, are rare, and he gets the feeling he's found one in Tintin.

* * *

The phone ringed; he picked it up. "Hello, Saguru Hakuba speaking."

_"It was you who sent that bone to Snowy, wasn't it?"_

The line was iffy, but Saguru had no doubts as to who was on the other end. "I met a police officer in Yokohama who mentioned your brave deeds. I figured it was about time that Snowy got rewarded as well."

_"Saguru, you know how I feel about bones."_

"Don't worry Tintin. It's perfectly sanitary. It's not like I just picked it up off the beach or something."

_"Fine then. By the way, caught a thief yet?"_

"You'd hear about it in the newspapers if I had," Saguru sighed. "But I've only been to two heists so far, so it's not like I've had much of a chance to try."

_"Must be some kind of record. Maybe when I've got a free week or two I should pop in and try it myself."_

"It's always worth a try."

Then, suddenly, the muffled tones of some _very_ bad singing came through. _"But now he's got no legs at all, for he run a race with a cannonball. With me roo rum rar, faddle diddle dar..."_

_ "Sorry, I've got to go. The Captain's drunk again."_

"The Captain?" Saguru repeated, slightly confused.

_"Yeah, it's a bit of a long story. Bye now!"_

* * *

The third time Saguru meets Tintin face-to-face, they're at a reception for the opening of a museum exhibit sponsored by Suzuki Corporation. They'd been exchanging letters and the odd phone call, but now Tintin's decided to try his hand at catching Kaito Kid. Someone's spiked the punch and so the two of them are watching Inspector Nakamori and Captain Haddock bond through drunken tunes with questionable lyrics. Aoko's trying desperately to get her father to realize that the heist is scheduled to start soon, and Kaito disappeared shortly before Edogawa Conan showed up to ask Tintin about a mineral called phostlite that makes things grow at phenomenal rates.

Saguru and Tintin take one last look at the drunken Inspector, and give him up as a loss before heading to the exhibit hall on their own. Saguru glances at all of the display cases, but Tintin remains unimpressed. As well he should be, these are the relics of the _Unicorn_ which he helped unearth. The target of the night is the biggest jewel in the collection, a large emerald pendant set in gold and dangling from a long string of pearls.

Later as the two of them are chasing Kid they barely have to communicate; they know what each other is planning with just a few well-chosen words, and away they go. Between them Saguru knows they've got Kid sweating. Finally they manage to corner him on the roof, though Saguru knows that's the absolute worst place to corner him. Friendly banter ensues, and it seems that Kid is impressed by their performance.

Then Kid's hang glider pops out and it seems it's time for him to leave. In a puff of smoke he vanishes. But not before slipping a flower into Tintin's hand and a note into Saguru's. It stated in plain language that Kid liked Saguru's friend and wished that he would come to play more often, as he and Saguru seemed to have such wonderful chemistry.

It didn't specify what kind of chemistry. Saguru crumpled it up shoved it in his pocket, brushing off Tintin's question. Tintin twirled the flower and made a joke about how Kid may be a girl after all. When they go back to the large reception room it seems that the Inspector has finally come to his senses and is swearing loudly, albeit drunkenly. Aoko's given up and is sending her father furious looks from a corner. Kaito's trying to cheer her up but is distracted when he sees Saguru and Tintin. He sends Saguru a smirk to let him know just how much of an insufferable git he is. The tables are turned when Tintin presents Kid's flower to Aoko. This time it's Kaito's turn to glare, and Saguru's turn to smirk.

As Baaya drives the two of them home, they sit in companionable silence. The Captain's passed out in the front seat, and both of them are worn out from the long night. But Saguru thinks that it was worth it.

* * *

They start to meet in person a lot more after that, whether by design or coincidence. They solve cases together, drawing upon the same connection that nearly had Kaito Kid caught. They're unstoppable. And Saguru is always reminded of how grateful he is to have a friend like Tintin, someone who can keep up with him even when he's at his very best. When he's hatching plots with Nakamori to catch Kid, he always has to explain what he's thinking in full detail. When he's with Tintin he barely has to say a word, giving half a sentence before Tintin butts in and finishes it for him, adding on an extra layer that he hadn't even thought of.

Then one day out of the blue Tintin rings him up. He's off to do something top-secret. They won't be able to meet for a long time, and he can't give Saguru any way to reach him. But he promises to call, and Saguru tells him that he'll hold him to that. And Tintin does call. They discuss nonsensical things, Saguru's latest cases, ways to catch Kid. Never whatever it is that Tintin is doing, and Saguru didn't try to fool himself that he wasn't extremely curious. But he doesn't push too hard. Undoubtedly he'll find out once it's all over.

Then one day when Tintin calls, he sounds different. Weak. He sounds like there's something wrong with him. Saguru says as much, and Tintin's reply causes him to sit straight up and shout, "You were shot?" startling the knitting Baaya.

_"Please don't shout. My head hurts enough as it is."_

"Just what have you gotten yourself into?" Saguru demanded, exasperated.

_"You sound just like the Captain... He ripped a chair in half."_

"Something it sounds like he had every right to do. Probably not even half an inch over and there'd be no more Tintin. Don't do that kind of crazy shit. Don't you know it drives everyone around you insane with worry? Just what were you doing to warrant that kind of attention anyway?"

_"I can't tell you. All I can say is that I was foiling some industrial espionage on an international level."_

"Oh, of course. Because if it doesn't have international tacked on somewhere then it's clearly not dangerous enough to warrant your attention," Saguru snarked.

_"Hey, I've only been shot three times."_

"Yeah? And the only time I've ever been shot at all, I was actually just pretending in order to catch a killer. You're starting to sound infuriatingly like a thief of mutual acquaintance. He takes the same stupid cavalier approach towards life and death. You know, the kind of approach that gets you killed."

_"Kid can't have ever been hurt that badly. Otherwise he would've been caught."_

"You're right about that, but there have been some incredibly close calls." Saguru sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Tintin, if you'd died, what then? What about all of us? What about me? I... We'd all lose a good friend. A very good friend, and we'd all miss you terribly. Can't you think about us for once?"

They talked about other things for a while, but the fact that Tintin had nearly died was never far from Saguru's mind. When the call ended he didn't move for a long time, pondering his relationship with the other teenager.

* * *

After that the calls trickle off, until finally there are none. Saguru tries calling Tintin's old number several times, to no avail. It was one morning after half a cup of coffee that it finally dawned on Saguru that he'd started checking the obituaries for news of Tintin. But there is never anything, not even a whiff of what has happened.

Then one evening there is a torrential downpour as Baaya is driving Saguru home from a murder. There is a sudden _crash_ and Saguru finds himself shaking shards of glass off his lap as the rain soaks the inside of the car. Baaya screeches and they both jump out, the car now being no better than standing out in the rain. By some immense good luck their strange breakdown had occurred right outside the gates of a house or mansion. Saguru starts when he reads the plate on the gate: _Marlinspike Hall_. He had never been to the place before, but he knew it was the estate of Captain Haddock, and that Tintin quite often stayed there.

It's as good a place as any, so they run down the long driveway and ring the doorbell. The door is opened by a proper English butler who quickly lets them in. The Captain recognizes Saguru at once and after a few fumbles gets his name right. Then Saguru asks about Tintin.

He is surprised when the Captain answers casually that Tintin is up in his room. The shock must have appeared on his face as the Captain gave him a funny look and then directions. Saguru excused himself and then rushed up the marble staircase. He found the door the Captain had indicated and knocked. "Come in," the distressingly familiar voice calls.

Saguru opens the door and pokes his head in. Tintin is lounging on the bed reading a book, but the doors to the balcony are not quite latched all the way and there are a few dark splotches of damp on his sweater. Saguru smiles softly. "Long time no see."

The book closes in a hurry, but Tintin doesn't move. "Saguru!" he quietly exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Saguru shrugged as he entered the room the rest of the way and closed the door behind him. "Car trouble." He slowly walked forward. "I've been trying to reach you."

"Oh, that," Tintin brushed off. "I quit living in the apartment altogether once we got back."

"You could have called," Saguru suggested.

An unknown emotion flickered across Tintin's face. "You know, I'm surprised you haven't started interrogating me on where I've been yet," he changed the topic.

Saguru smirked, folding his arms. "Does that mean you're going to tell me?"

Tintin sighed, rolling over. "It's complicated. But I really did wish you were there. You can only hang out with genius scientists for so long without feeling even a little bit out of your depth."

Saguru blinked. Something was clicking in the back of his head. "No way..."

The corner of Tintin's mouth quirked up. "Yes way."

Saguru remembered that the Syldavians had recently sent a rocket into space to land on the moon. It was a marvelous scientific journey, but the members of the crew had been kept anonymous due to some long-winded speech the king had given that in all reality didn't make much sense to Saguru and he was pretty sure pulled out the 'National Security' card. "You went to the moon," he stated.

"Yep."

The silence hung heavy. "I thought you might have died. Why didn't you call me?" Saguru asked quietly.

Tintin was saved from answering by a sudden gust of wind that managed to open the not quite closed balcony doors. Tintin jumps up and Saguru rushes over, wrestling them closed and getting soaked in the process. This time they are latched properly, and Saguru takes a glance at Tintin. The other teen had stilled as soon as the doors were closed, and his face is soaked. He lets out a chortle. "You thought I was dead, huh? You of all people should know better than that." The chortle turns slightly hysteric, and Saguru realizes with a start that not all of the water on Tintin's face is rain.

Saguru, against his nature, hugs Tintin. "What happened?" he asks quietly.

"There was a saboteur on board... we were running out of air. He had a gun. One of the scientists, he... he fought with him. It was an accident, he didn't mean to... but there was a shot, and suddenly the saboteur was dead."

"That's not all, is it?" Saguru gently prodded.

Tintin nodded. "Then the scientist, the one who'd fought with him... he was the one who snuck the saboteur on board. He thought it was all his fault. So he... he jumped."

"Jumped?"

"Out of the rocket. Into space. To save everybody else's lives. But it was almost in vain anyway, I nearly couldn't get the autopilot set, the Captain nearly died..." Tintin grew quiet. "Saguru? Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"I... that is to say... Going to the moon was fun and exciting and all, other than when someone was trying to kill me."

Saguru quirked an eyebrow. "Only you would talk of going to the moon and someone trying to kill you so casually."

Tintin blushed at that, befuddling Saguru. "Anyway... but... well, I kept thinking about you. I missed you. I missed running into you in London one week, Istanbul the next. I kept wishing you were there so you could see it too... the surface of the moon by the light of the Earth in all its glory. But at the same time I was glad you weren't there, weren't in danger. At the very end when even I had my doubts, I was so glad that you were still on Earth safe and sound."

Saguru smiled softly. "Tintin, clearly you needed to unload on someone. Why didn't you call me?"

"I thought I needed time to think about it all."

Saguru nodded. "Okay. You've had your time. What is your conclusion?"

And then, to Saguru's surprise, Tintin looked straight at him, leaned forward, and their lips met. Saguru's mind shut down as he realized that _Tintin_ was _kissing him_. Tintin pulled back quickly and looked at the ground, shifting slightly. "Is this why you didn't call me?" Saguru asked, incredulous.

Tintin nodded silently. "I suppose..." he started quietly. "I suppose you're going to leave now."

Saguru shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching up. "Never. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you, but sometimes I have no idea what to do with you either. But you're my friend, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"What does this change?"

Saguru embraced Tintin again. "This is untrodden ground, isn't it? How am I supposed to know?"

Tintin smiled too. "Like leaving footprints on the surface of the moon."

And if later either of them notice the Captain and Baaya sharing knowing looks, neither mention it.

* * *

**And yeah. That's all there is****, there isn't any more. Maybe. I'm tempted to stick Saguru on the _Scheherazade_ now, have him be incredulous about aliens, and then he'll help Tintin out of his Alph-Art problem, but this seemed like a good place to end it. Tintin sure is really hard to write in character. The song that the Captain sings if anyone is wondering is My Son John. Reviews make my day brighter.**


End file.
